133. Kasumigaoka Utaha's New Work: Continued

When the piece ended, Jiang Yu gently flexed his fingers twice, held his breath, gathered his concentration, and began playing the next one. Apart from taking a brief rest midway through, he had played for nearly two and a half hours straight.

After changing clothes and leaving the dressing room, Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment before deciding not to hurry over to Kyoko Kato to settle his wages for the day. He had no idea how to deal with the curiosity that would surely flare up in her again.

After thinking it over briefly, Jiang Yu walked to the table where his senior had been sitting earlier. He glanced at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who was frowning at the screen with an unmistakably anxious expression, then sat down.

Seeing someone take the seat opposite her, the irritated Utaha assumed it was yet another presumptuous stranger trying to strike up a conversation. She was just about to snap at him when she realized that the person sitting down was Jiang Yu, now wearing a different outfit. The long string of words on the tip of her tongue was swallowed back, and she lowered her head once more, focusing on the computer screen as she racked her brains.

“Ahem... I’m guessing it isn’t the script for Steins;Gate that’s troubling you like this, Senior Utaha?”

When his senior failed to acknowledge him, Jiang Yu cleared his throat twice to draw her attention before speaking.

Utaha tucked the strands of hair that had slipped loose beside her face behind her ear, picked up the coffee beside her, and took a light sip. She blinked, the corners of her lips curling upward, and said half-seriously, half-teasingly, “It’s all because you’re too talented, Junior~”

“...Don’t make it sound as though I’ve done something extraordinary, Senior Utaha!” Jiang Yu protested. “And please don’t say things that could so easily give people the wrong idea!”

“Heh... I’m not making anything up, you know. It’s just that after my editor read your work, she rejected the new novel I had worked so hard to write and sent it back for me to rethink.”

Utaha closed one eye and spoke as though she were complaining, yet her tone remained perfectly calm.

“So why didn’t you just tell me the truth from the beginning? Besides, I don’t think I’m particularly talented. You’re flattering me, Senior. And more than that, I refuse to believe that the Utaha Kasumigaoka I know is someone who would merely grumble like this.”

Hearing her say that, Jiang Yu felt somewhat awkward.

“Who knows~” Utaha sighed softly.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose and asked, “So, how is your new novel coming along?”

“Well~ should I say that there’s absolutely no problem with it, or that I haven’t made any progress at all?”

Utaha turned her computer screen toward Jiang Yu. Then she picked up the small spoon and began stirring the coffee in front of her as she spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

“What kind of answer is that? Those are two completely contradictory statements...” Jiang Yu quipped in response, then shifted his gaze to the computer screen she had just turned around.

Two text documents occupied equal halves of the screen. One was completely blank; the other contained perhaps several dozen lines of text.

“The blank one is the rough concept for the new novel that I haven’t figured out yet,” Utaha explained. “The one with words is the original concept for the new novel that Editor Machida sent back last time.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu used the trackpad to skim through the written document from beginning to end. His expression became slightly strange.

“...Is it still a school-based coming-of-age romance similar to Love Metronome?”

“This time, at least, I’ve considered giving it a clearer ending—or perhaps a happier one~”

It was obvious that Utaha had at least heard something about the online reaction to the ending of her debut novel.

So you do know that the ending of your novel caused an enormous controversy? Jiang Yu pursed his lips slightly.

In essence, the character who had held the advantage in Love Metronome was suddenly defeated by the other in a dramatic reversal. Since the characters had been developed so successfully over the preceding volumes, the outcome sparked fierce arguments between the factions supporting Sayuka, the first heroine, and Mai, the second heroine. At the time, it even caused quite a stir on 2channel and Twitter.

Yet in the end, the controversy had instead boosted sales of the original novels. It was difficult to know what one was supposed to make of that.

“Whoa—!”

Jiang Yu had happened to glance at the plot summary for the first volume that Utaha had written, and he let out a small cry of surprise.

“Senior, this scene where the hero and heroine meet...”

“Looks familiar?”

The corners of Utaha’s lips rose slightly. Clearly, she had anticipated his reaction and seemed rather pleased by it.

“Er...”

Jiang Yu stammered for quite a while, but ultimately said nothing. With an indescribable expression on his face, he simply turned the computer screen back toward Utaha.

Was it just his imagination, or did the male lead seem a little like him? And that strangely familiar method of encounter—the café, the piano playing, and all the rest...

That was what Jiang Yu thought inwardly. Outwardly, however, he asked solemnly, “So, about your new novel, Senior Utaha...”

Utaha narrowed her eyes, her voice carrying a trace of helplessness.

“I haven’t made any progress at all~ Not since the manuscript was sent back two weeks ago. I thought that perhaps I could find some inspiration from your script, Junior... but it was completely useless~”

“Emmm... If you don’t mind, Senior Utaha, could you let me take a look at the original draft of the new novel? Perhaps I might be able to offer some suggestions after reading it.”

Thinking of how the girl sitting opposite him had helped the club complete one of its character arcs despite being completely stuck on her own new novel, Jiang Yu could not help feeling a little guilty. After considering the matter for a moment, he offered the suggestion.

Utaha was taken aback.

She had not come here on a whim. Her original purpose had merely been to see whether she could find some inspiration in Jiang Yu’s piano performance—something with the “freshness” Editor Sonoko Machida had spoken of. From beginning to end, she had never once considered asking him for help.

Besides, Utaha believed that she possessed a certain amount of ability when it came to literary creation. Within her small circle, in particular, she could be considered outstanding.

Thus, whenever she found herself stuck while developing a new novel, she had never thought of seeking help from those around her. Jiang Yu’s words surprised her, while also prompting her to begin weighing the possibility.

She thought of the manuscript submitted by the junior sitting across from her—a light novel that had earned nothing but praise from the entire editorial department of Fushikawa Bunko. She thought of the approaching deadline. Perhaps it was because this was the first time she had encountered someone who so forthrightly wished to help her. Or perhaps it was because, upon hearing Jiang Yu say those words, she had felt that unfamiliar, flustering yet warmly searing flutter in her chest...

After a long silence, Utaha, whose heart was filled with conflicting emotions, nodded. Her crimson lips parted slightly.

“Then I’ll be counting on you, Junior... No, Teacher Tosu.”